Louie Makes Three
by chifipdlyndz
Summary: This story starts the morning after the season four finale. Matt comes home to Gabby and Louie, they hug, and then what? Multiple chapters about Firehouse 51's favorite new little family.
1. Chapter 1

A tower of Legos in one corner.

An opened suitcase in another corner.

Her two boys fast asleep in their beds.

Gabby smiled, taking in the first sights that she saw upon waking up. She slowly rolled over in bed to face Matt.

"Morning, beautiful," Matt said, groggy and only half awake. He smiled, slowly opened his eyes, and took in the sights around the little apartment.

"Morning babe," Gabby replied. She leaned towards Matt and kissed him softly. "How are we already awake? We were up until almost midnight talking."

They exchanged smiles and flashed back to the night before.

It had been an emotional and exciting night, filled with the happiest kind of tears. From the moment Gabby opened the front door of the apartment to see Matt on the other side, their family felt complete and everything just felt _right_. They had stood in the doorway for a few moments, happy tears rolling down their cheeks. No words were exchanged, and they didn't need to be. They both just knew.

Louie hopped up from the couch and carried his monkey to where Matt and Gabby stood and interrupted them. He pulled on Gabby's pant leg and looked up at her with his big, brown eyes.

"Fire?" he asked, pointing to Matt.

Gabby leaned down to Louie's level, and Matt followed her lead.

"Do you remember Matt from the fire?" Gabby asked Louie.

Louie nodded his head in response.

"Stay? He stay?" Louie asked.

"Well, what do you think, bud? Is it okay with you if Matt stays?" Gabby asked Louie.

He nodded his head again.

"Stay, peas?" he asked Matt.

A lone tear rolled down Gabby's cheek in reaction to Louie's words. She smiled at Louie, and then looked at Matt, who was flashing one of his trademark grins and had tears rolling down his cheeks, as well.

"I'm not going anywhere, Lou," Matt said amidst tears.

Gabby pulled Louie into her lap and looked towards Matt, her eyes and heart full of love and appreciation. Matt had a smile bigger than she had ever seen on him. He leaned towards her and kissed her, softly, slowly, meaningfully. When he finally pulled away, his heart swelled as he noticed Louie snuggled into Gabby's chest, his eyes slowly closing. Gabby looked down at Louie, falling asleep in her arms.

"Let's get the little guy to bed," she said to Matt, leaning in for another kiss.

He pulled away from Gabby and picked up Louie's monkey, which had fallen from his little hand and onto the floor.

"I'll get the monkey," Matt said.

They both stood up and walked towards Louie's bed on the other side of the small apartment. Gabby gently laid Louie on his bed and tucked the covers up around his tiny body. Matt handed her the monkey, and then stepped back to watch the scene unfold. The love of his life tucking in the little boy that she had fallen for the moment she laid eyes on him. Matt smiled to himself, realizing that he had fallen for Louie the moment he sweetly asked him to "stay, peas?" Gabby sat down on the bed beside Louie and looked back up at Matt, smiling

"Goodnight, Louie. Welcome home," Gabby said, gently stroking his soft, brown hair. She leaned down, kissed his head, then stood up and walked over to Matt.

"Hopefully he sleeps through the night. New house, new bed, new people taking care of him. It's a lot for a little one," she said.

"Well, lucky for him, he has an amazing mom to help him with his adjustment," he said, pulling her towards him.

Gabby smiled back at him.

"Thanks. Look, Matt, I wanted you to show me that this," she motioned towards Louie and back to herself "is what you wanted. I mean, of course I wanted you here, but only if you wanted to be here, too…"

Matt interrupted her. "Like I told Louie, I'm not going anywhere. I _do_ want this. All of this. You and Louie and, well, maybe not the apartment above Hermann's garage," he said with a laugh.

"Think Severide will trade us his bedroom at the apartment for this place?" Gabby asked.

Matt smiled and nodded, thoughtfully.

"That's not a bad idea," he paused before continuing. "Look, Gabs, I'm sorry that it took me so long to get here. To this apartment, standing next to you. I'm sorry that we couldn't get on the same page. But at the end of the day, I don't want our family to kickoff while I'm still standing on the sidelines."

Gabby couldn't control her tears as they spilled down her cheeks once again.

"I _can_ do this without you," she said. "But I never wanted to."

Her tears were full on sobs now, as she leaned into Matt and held onto him tightly. He hugged her back, holding her in his arms, kissing the top of her head lovingly.

Eventually, Gabby pulled away, and Matt kissed her lips softly.

"I'm going to run out to my truck to grab my stuff. I'll try not to wake the entire Hermann family while I'm at it," Matt said.

Gabby nodded.

"I'll brew a pot of coffee. I have a feeling we'll be up for awhile," she said.

Hours later, they were seated on the couch, empty coffee mugs in their hands. They had been sitting there for hours, talking, laughing, crying, kissing. Matt's suitcase sat opened in one corner of the apartment. He had grabbed shorts and a t-shirt to wear to bed and set out his blue work pants and gray polo for their shift the next day.

While plotting their scheme to get Hermann to accept Severide as his new tenant, both Matt and Gabby yawned in sync. Matt looked down at his watch and was surprised to see that it was minutes away from midnight.

"Oh, man. We better get to bed. Our alarms will be going off in a few hours," he said.

"Stay, peas?" Gabby asked with a smile.

Now wide-awake and lying in bed next to his girl, Matt leaned over her towards Louie's bed.

"Looks like the little man's still asleep. Want me to get started with breakfast?" Matt asked.

"That would be amazing," Gabby responded. "I should probably get him up. I want to get out of here early so that I can make sure he's well adjusted with Cindy before we leave."

Matt hopped out of bed, walking towards the kitchen. He looked back at Gabby, who was now seated upright in the bed.

"I have a feeling that Cindy isn't a permanent solution," Matt said.

Gabby shook her head. "Nope, 'nanny search' is on the to-do list."

Matt nodded, and then busied himself making pancakes, thankful that the tiny kitchen contained all of the necessary ingredients, including chocolate chips. Meanwhile, Gabby woke Louie up, changed him out of his pajamas and into clean clothes, and settled him into his booster seat at the small table.

"Matt!" Louie said excitedly, pointing to Matt.

"Morning, Lou Man! Pancakes?" he asked, holding up the plate of warm, fresh pancakes.

Louie's eyes widened and he nodded his head up and down.

 _Buzz, buzz_. Matt's phone buzzed across the bed.

"Text from Severide. Do you want me to read it to you?" Gabby asked.

"Sure. You know the passcode," Matt responded.

Gabby did know the passcode. 5181. " _So original_ ," she thought.

She typed in the passcode and read the text from Severide.

"He says...'Will be late for shift. Cover for me?'" Gabby read, confused. "Late night with Kidd, I guess."

"Kidd? Wait, are they…?" Matt asked.

"Let's just say I'm not the only one at 51 sharing a bed with a lieutenant," Gabby explained.

"Dude needs to find a hobby," Matt said, as he cut Louie's pancakes into tiny pieces and covered them with syrup.

Gabby laughed. She quickly texted "Sure thing" to Severide then noticed the time on Matt's phone.

"Chop, chop, boys! We need to be out the door in ten minutes!" she called out. She finished throwing her things into her workbag, filled a small bag with toys, clothes and snacks for Louie, and zippered Matt's workbag shut.

"But, first," Matt said, pulling out a chair for Gabby and setting down a plate on the table in front of it. "Pancakes."

Exactly ten minutes later, Matt closed the front door of the apartment behind him and followed Gabby and Louie down the steps. He turned around, looking back at the door. Less than twelve hours ago he had walked through that door to his family and his life had changed forever. For the better. Now, he closed the door and followed behind his family.

He smiled, thinking, " _It's our_ family's _time now_."


	2. Chapter 2

Mornings as a family. Getting ready together, eating together, laughing together, just being together. Both when Gabby was pregnant and when she asked Matt about fostering Louie, she had daydreamed about spending mornings together as a family. Now, just a few months later, they _finally_ had little family and were spending their first morning together. Gabby had truly never been happier.

She glanced back at Matt, who was following behind her and Louie. They were on their way from the little apartment above the garage to the main house. Cindy had graciously offered to watch Louie for a few days until they could find a nanny or make other arrangements.

"Hey, babe?" Gabby called back to him as they approached the Herrmanns' front porch.

"Yeah?" Matt said, pausing to readjust his workbag on his shoulder.

"I love you," she said.

Matt smiled that trademark grin. "I love you, too. And our little family."

Just then, Hermann opened his front door, and he and Cindy walked across the porch.

"There's the happy family!" Herrmann called when he spotted Gabby walking towards him with Louie in tow.

"Lieutenant Casey," Herrmann added with a laugh when he saw Matt following behind Gabby. "It's good to see you."

Matt nodded, knowing Hermann surely had more to say but was saving it for later. "Thanks, Herrmann."

Herrmann and Cindy, the veteran parents, met Gabby and Matt, the newbies, at the bottom of the porch steps. Louie clutched tightly onto Gabby and his monkey, as if he knew that she was about to leave him for a 24-hour shift.

"Ready to spend the day at the Herrmann house, little man?" Herrman asked Louie. Louie looked up at Gabby with his big, brown eyes and a heartbreaking look on his face.

"Oh, we'll have so much fun, Louie! We can walk the kids to school, go to the park, maybe even make cookies!" Cindy said to Louie, attempting to cheer him up. Louie looked back at Matt, attempting to will at least one of his new parents to stay with him.

Matt just stood to the side, watching his new little family.

 _Best decision I've ever made_ , he thought.

Gabby looked down at Louie with a smile. "Remember what we told you at breakfast, buddy. You're going to hang out with Miss Cindy and the big kids all day. Won't that be fun? Matt and I will be back tomorrow morning. We promise."

Before Louie had a chance to react to Gabby's words, all five of the Herrmann kids barreled across the front porch and down the steps.

"Good morning!"

"Gabby! Louie! Matt!"

"We have toys! Look, look, look!"

The kids excitedly shouted greetings as they ran to Gabby and Louie. They all tried to get a glimpse of Louie, and the younger kids offered him some of their hand-me-down toys.

By the time Louie's arms were full with his stuffed monkey, a stuffed elephant, and a mini basketball, a smile was also on his face. He finally seemed to be adjusting to the Herrmanns and forgetting that Gabby and Matt were about to leave him for the day.

"Well, you three better get to work. Don't be late!" Cindy said, reaching her arms out for Louie.

Only slightly reluctantly, he moved from Gabby's arms into Cindy's, with his new toys still in tow. Gabby leaned down and kissed the top of his head.

"We'll see you soon, Louie," she said.

"Okay. Soon!" he responded.

"Later, Lou Man," Matt added.

"Matt!" Louie said excitedly.

Meanwhile, Hermann wrapped his kids in goodbye hugs, and then gave Cindy a quick, yet loving, goodbye kiss. After everyone had exchanged their goodbyes, Cindy turned back toward the house, ushering the kids to follow behind her.

"Let's go, let's go! Finish your breakfasts, brush your teeth, grab your backpacks, and Lee Henry, do _not_ forget your homework," Cindy said as they all walked back into the house.

Gabby and Matt looked on, excited about the start of their new family, yet apprehensive about leaving Louie for the day. After a few moments, they turned to walk to Matt's truck.

"Not so fast, you two," Hermann called to Gabby and Matt. "You two have some explaining to do. Especially you, lieutenant."

They turned back towards Herrmann as he continued.

"You know I've always been Team Casey and Dawson, but you both had me worried lately. Now, don't hate me for saying this, but I've always wondered how two people who keep their emotions all bottled up can manage to communicate."

"They don't," Gabby said with a laugh. "At least not very well."

"Well, clearly," Herrmann said. "So, Casey, what finally changed your mind?"

Gabby stood next to Herrmann, smirking. Matt had already told her his answer the night before, but she was still interested to see what he would say to Herrmann.

Matt eyed Herrmann and Gabby with his "I'm a lieutenant, and I mean business" look. This time, it was the look of a man who was confident with his decision and who was finally going to be the family man that he always dreamed of being.

"I've wanted to be alderman, what, a few months. But I've wanted to have a family for as long as I can remember. With Gabby. And now Louie. I still don't know if I'm ready, but I do know that there's nowhere else I'd rather be. And I owe you and Cindy and everyone else for being there when I wasn't," Matt said with a shrug.

Gabby felt tears welling up in her eyes in response to Matt's words. She'd lost count of how many times that had happened in the last twelve hours.

"You know, you're never really ready for it. Kids marriage, any of it," Herrmann began. "Even when you think you are, you're not. But the important thing is that you and the person standing next to you are a team. Talk to each other. Be there for each other. It's you two against the world. Don't forget that."

Matt and Gabby exchanged a knowing glance. They both knew that they would never forget Herrmann's words of wisdom.

"Enough sappiness. Let's get to work," Herrmann said, ushering them towards the cars. "Come on, Mama Bear. You too, Papa Bear."

They would all be back soon, just as they had promised Louie. But, as they all knew, a lot can change in one shift. A whole hell of a lot.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, Matt and Gabby were stuck in rush hour traffic on the way home from their shift. The only sound in the car was the sports talk radio show recapping the previous night in Chicago sports.

" _Wins for the Cubs and the Sox last night. Good night for baseball in Chicago. In other sports news…"_

Matt reached over and turned the volume down on the radio. He looked over at Gabby, who was staring out the window, lost in her thoughts.

"Gabby?" he asked.

"Hmm?" she responded, slowly turning away from the window and towards Matt.

"Trying to take Herrmann's advice here," Matt said, scratching his head. "I know it was a rough shift. Talk to me. Tell me what's going through your head."

"Louie."

"Me too."

Gabby leaned her head against the back of the headrest, her eyes quickly filling with tears.

"Matt," she said, trying to speak despite the quickly expanding lump in her throat. "He almost lost both of us today."

* * *

The beginning of the shift had moved at a boredom-inducing pace. Some shifts were slow. This one was slower than slow.

"One call all day. To an office building with a broken fire alarm. Thrilling," Cruz groaned, absentmindedly flipping through the channels on the common room TV.

"Shut it, Cruz. You're going to jinx us," Herrmann shouted to Cruz.

Matt and Gabby laughed from their spots at the table. It was almost four in the afternoon, there had only been one call all day, and all of the chores around the firehouse had already been completed. Dinner was ready and waiting, as well, thanks to leftover lasagna and salad courtesy of the last watch.

Matt flipped through the pile of paperwork sitting in front of him, decided against making a dent in it, and picked up the sports section of the _Chicago Tribune_ instead. Meanwhile, Gabby was busy shopping online for Louie. The websites for Gap, Gymboree, and Old Navy were all open on her laptop. After filling her shopping cart on the Gap website, she swiveled in her chair to face Matt.

"How many items of clothing with fire trucks on them is _too_ many for Louie?" she asked him.

Matt dropped the newspaper on the table for dramatic effect.

"Is that a serious question?" he asked, feigning shock.

"Good answer," Gabby said. "One pair of fire truck pajamas, two fire truck shirts, and one shirt with a Dalmatian wearing a firefighters' hat."

Matt smiled and leaned towards Gabby's computer to check out Louie's new clothes. As they were busy browsing online for more fire truck themed kids' clothes, Severide sat down across the table from them.

"So when's my move out date?" Kelly asked.

In sync, Matt and Gabby looked up from the laptop, confused by the question.

"What do you mean?" Gabby responded.

"Sev, we've talked about Gabby and Louie moving back to the apartment, but we don't want to kick you out…" Matt added.

"Are you kidding me?" Severide interrupted. "I called a realtor ten minutes after the social worker brought Louie here. I knew you'd come around eventually, Case."

" _Truck 81, Squad 3, Ambulance 61…"_

Duty called before Matt and Gabby had the chance to respond to Severide. Cruz practically jumped out of his chair.

"Hallelujah!" Cruz shouted, a bit too excitedly.

* * *

The call that interrupted Severide's conversation with Matt and Gabby was to a school bus accident downtown. It started off as a routine call, and everyone from Truck and Squad worked together to safely get all of the students who were on the bus to safety.

The bus was still fiery, and Matt and Otis worked to stop a small fire by the engine before it got out of hand. Gabby and Mouch were standing on the sidewalk towards the back of the bus, trying to keep the perimeter around the area of the accident clear. Mouch was standing slightly closer to the crowd of students and passersby. He was busy trying to comfort a young girl who was worried that she had left her book report on the bus.

Back near the front of the bus, Matt and Otis were struggling to stop the small fire, and it was quickly getting out of control. Suddenly, the fire took over the front of the bus, and Matt could tell that the whole bus was about to go up in flames.

"Move! Quick!" he shouted to Otis. Matt looked to his left and noticed Gabby standing by the other end of the bus.

"Hey! Watch out!" he yelled, running towards her, throwing his body on top of hers, and dropping to the ground.

Behind them, the bus erupted in flames with a thunderous _whoosh,_ and the crowd that had gathered erupted in a mix of screams, "oohs," and "ahhs."

Matt and Gabby lifted their heads, making eye contact and noticing the shock and fear in each other's eyes.

"You okay?" Matt asked.

"I'm good," Gabby responded, her voice betraying her words.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah…yeah… _yes_ ," Gabby said, finally convincing Matt with her last word.

They got back to their feet, heading for the truck. Neither of them willing to admit with words or even a look how close of a call it had been for Gabby.

* * *

"Thanks for the jinx, Cruz," Herrmann said, as everyone walked back to the trucks after finally finishing up at the scene of the bus accident.

"Well, that sure wasn't boring," Cruz responded with a wink.

Back in Truck 81, Herrmann, Stella, Otis, and Mouch were joking around, teasing Mouch about Platt's never-ending honey-do list for him. Matt and Gabby sat silently, both staring out the windows, their minds' elsewhere. Herrmann looked towards Gabby, then Matt, and noticed both of their silence and blank expressions.

"First shift as parents," Herrmann said. "How does it feel?"

Gabby shook her head slowly.

"How do you do it, Herrmann?" Gabby asked.

"Do what?" he responded. "Run into burning buildings and buses knowing that I have enough kids to make a basketball team waiting for me at home?"

Gabby nodded.

"Well, I have Cindy," Herrmann continued. "And only one of us is stupid enough to run into burning buildings as a career."

Matt turned around to face Gabby. They made eye contact, acknowledging that they were _both_ stupid enough to do just that.

* * *

Everyone at 51 had just enough time to scarf down their dinner of leftover lasagna and salad before the bells went off once again. On the apparatus floor, everyone quickly pulled on their gear and hopped into their respective trucks and rigs.

Before Gabby hopped into Truck 81 she turned to Matt. "Remember, we have a kid waiting for us at home."

Matt nodded. "I'll keep my badge off the wall if you'll do the same."

Gabby nodded as she settled into her seat in the truck, but she was still anxious from the last call. Louie was waiting for her. And she knew he would be excited to see Matt, too, after they had bonded so quickly. She couldn't imagine Cindy or Herrmann having to explain to Louie that something bad had happened to either one of them.

Otis parked the truck in front of a hotel with flames shooting out of the third story windows.

"That's the McGarvey. One of the oldest hotels in Chicago. Wonder what happened," Mouch said, as everyone surveyed the scene and jumped out of the truck.

Luckily, the almost 100 year old hotel still had modern fire alarms and all of the guests and employees seemed to be accounted for and safe. Except one.

"My mother!" shouted a woman who appeared to be in her mid-forties. She pulled on Matt's turnout coat as he walked towards her. "I think she's still inside! My daughter and I went shopping, and she stayed back to rest. I can't find her!"

"We're on it, ma'am," Matt assured the woman, as he and Severide raced inside the building.

The woman nodded slowly, tears streaming down her cheeks. Before Gabby joined the others to control the crowd and extinguish the fire, she turned to the woman.

"What's your name, ma'am?" Gabby asked.

"I'm…I'm G-Greta," the woman stammered amidst sobs. "My mother and my daughter and I are in town for a girls' weekend. I just can't believe…"

"Greta, listen to me," Gabby said. "Lieutenants Casey and Severide and the guys on the rescue squad are some of the best firefighters in Chicago. Your mom is going to be fine."

Less than five minutes later, the smoke from the fire was turning ominously black.

"Casey! Severide!" Boden shouted into the radio. "The smoke's turning black. Get out of there!"

Just then, Greta's mother ran to her from across the street.

"Greta! I'm right here!"

The mother, daughter, and granddaughter hugged and cried. Greta remembered reading the name on the back of Gabby's turnout coat and called to her.

"Dawson! Firefighter Dawson! I found my mom!"

Gabby smiled and waved to the newly reunited family, then ran to Boden.

"Chief, the woman found her mother. Where are Casey and Severide?" Gabby asked.

"I'm right here," Severide said. "And Case is right behind me."

Severide, Boden, and Gabby all turned around, but Matt was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh, come on, Matt," Severide sighed.

"Casey! Call out!" Boden called into the radio.

Gabby stood with tears in her eyes waiting for Matt's response. She felt like she was back at the apartment building where Matt had collapsed to the ground after saving a baby. Back then, they had just started dating and hadn't even told anyone at 51 yet. Now, they were starting a family together and had so much more at stake.

A loud crash came from inside the hotel and Gabby's jaw instinctively dropped. Her hand flew up to cover her gaping mouth.

"I'm going back in!" Severide shouted, running towards the collapsing building despite Boden yelling at him to do otherwise.

Before Severide could run inside the building, Matt finally huffed and puffed his way out of the hotel. When he was a safe distance away, he dropped his hands to his knees and tried to catch his breath.

Gabby, Severide, Boden, and Brett all ran towards him.

"The…steps…collapsed. Severide was already out…my radio stopped working. I'm…I'm fine," Matt said, as Gabby clutched onto his coat and Brett checked his vital signs.

As they finally worked their way back to the trucks, Gabby turned to Matt.

"Don't scare me like that," she said, a single tear rolling down her cheek.

"I just want to get home to Louie," Matt said. "This has been one hell of a shift."

Gabby nodded in agreement. "Amen to that."

* * *

Back in Matt's silver truck, they were finally on their way home to Louie. Unfortunately, they were stopped at yet another red light.

"Babe, Gabby said," turning back towards Matt. "After that hellish shift…I just think that we have some big decisions to make."

"That's fair," he agreed. "Let's start with the apartment. You still want to move back?"

Gabby nodded. "Of course I do. We should ask Severide when he could move into his new place. I don't want Louie to get too settled at Herrmann's and then move in again."

"Agreed," Matt said. "I'll text Severide when we get home."

Gabby smiled. "While we're making big decisions…Matt, I don't think I can stay on 81. Herrmann told us yesterday that he has Cindy and only one of them is stupid enough to run into burning buildings. Well, we're _both_ that stupid. But we can't be with Louie waiting for us to come home. And of course, I would never ask you to step down…"

"Baby, I get it. I really do," Matt started. "But you've worked so hard. I can…I…I was offered a position teaching a few days at the academy. I could take on less shifts and be home with Louie when I'm not teaching."

"Offered to teach at the academy?" Gabby asked. "You didn't…"

"I know, I know. Babe, I didn't tell you because I wasn't even considering it until now. But now it makes sense."

"Matt, I love you for offering that, but I have a better plan…"


End file.
